Students discover their Geoparks through letters

What if a letter could take you across a Geopark? 

Through ‘Géoparcs en toutes lettres’ (Geoparks in Writing), students are discovering their local area by sharing it with someone who has never seen it before, while getting to know a completely different landscape through the eyes of another class. 

The project brings school classes from different Geoparks together for a year of letters, parcels and shared discoveries. Along the way, students explore the landscapes around them, uncover stories from the past, get hands-on with local materials and discover the wildlife and habitats on their doorstep. Their discoveries then become stories to share with their pen pals, turning the familiar into something worth looking at again. 

A first year full of discoveries

The first edition brought together six Geoparks: Géoparc Causses du Quercy, Géoparc La Hague, Géoparc du Luberon, Géoparc Massif des Bauges, Géoparc Normandie-Maine and Cross-Channel Geopark Transmanche. Each participating class was paired with a class from another Geopark, creating a year-long exchange between students living in different landscapes. 

For the Cross-Channel Geopark Transmanche, students from the village of Henneveux exchanged letters with a class from the Géoparc Normandie-Maine. Their correspondence became a way of sharing the places, stories and everyday details that make their home special. Through letters and parcels, the students introduced their surroundings, shared what they had discovered and sent little pieces of their landscape to their pen pals. 

There was also something to discover much closer to home. Describing a place to someone who has never visited encourages you to look at it differently yourself. A familiar hill can suddenly become a story about geology. A local wetland can reveal a wealth of wildlife. A traditional craft can open the door to generations of local knowledge. Throughout the year, the students had the opportunity to explore these connections for themselves. 

At the Cross-Channel Geopark Transmanche, the correspondence was supported by a programme of activities, including talks with local experts, field trips and visits to local facilities. The students explored heritage and traditional skills, legends and myths, geology, landscapes and biodiversity, building up a growing collection of stories and experiences to share with their pen pals. 

Exploring the landscape around them

The project began in September with an introduction to some of the people and organisations working across the local area, as well as the different designations celebrating its natural and cultural heritage. The students also made their first climb into the limestone hills near their school in Nabringhen, giving them an opportunity to look at their surroundings from a different perspective and begin to understand how their school and village fit into the wider landscape. 

In October, the focus moved beneath their feet as the students began exploring the geology of the Cross-Channel Geopark Transmanche. Through a series of fun, hands-on experiments, they discovered more about the rocks that make up their landscape and the geological story behind them. They then selected rock samples to send to their pen pals, giving another class the chance to hold and explore a small piece of their Geopark. 

November and December brought a journey into local history. Through a classroom investigation, the students explored the geological links between France and England before following the more recent story of the Channel Tunnel. The landscape became a starting point for discovering the connections between the two sides of the Channel and the people who have travelled between them. 

In February, the students turned their attention to the ways people have used the natural materials found in their surroundings, with a particular focus on the clay of the Boulonnais. A hands-on cob workshop, led by an architect from the Caps et Marais d’Opale Regional Nature Park, gave them the opportunity to work with the material themselves and discover one of the traditional ways local earth has been used in buildings. A visit to the Desvres Ceramics Museum continued the exploration, with the students learning about the area’s ceramic heritage before creating their own ceramic tile to send to their pen pals in Normandy. 

By May, the project had turned towards the living landscape. The students explored natural areas close to their school, discovering the wetlands and taking a closer look at the plants, wildlife and habitats found there. After months of exploring, asking questions and gathering stories, they had plenty to bring back to their correspondence. 

The letters gave the students a reason to explore their surroundings, share what they found and become more curious about the place they call home. At the same time, each new letter from their pen pals offered a glimpse into another landscape, with its own history, wildlife and stories. 

Seeing a Geopark through the eyes of its students

One of the most valuable parts of the project is the opportunity for students to become explorers and ambassadors for their own local area. Rather than simply learning facts about their Geopark, they are encouraged to decide what makes their surroundings worth sharing with someone else. 

What would surprise a visitor? Which landscape would they choose to show them? What story would they tell about their village? Which plant, animal, tradition or local place deserves a place in their next letter? 

Questions like these encourage students to slow down and look again at places they may have passed many times before. They begin to notice the stories held within the landscape and understand how geology, nature, history and people have shaped the place around them. 

For their pen pals, these stories offer something equally special: a chance to discover a place they may never have visited through the words and experiences of someone who lives there 

And finally… a postcard

To capture the experience, the participating classes also worked together on a creative project, designing illustrated postcards inspired by their Geoparks. Drawing on everything they had discovered throughout the year, the students chose the landscapes, wildlife, geology, heritage and everyday details they wanted to bring to life. 

The result is a colourful collection of postcards, each offering a glimpse of a place through the eyes of the students who know it best.

The adventure continues!

Following the success of the first edition, ‘Géoparcs en toutes lettres’ returns for 2026–2027. This year, two Cycle 3 classes from the Cross-Channel Geopark Transmanche will take part in a new exchange with classes from another Geopark. 

Three exchange sessions will take place throughout the school year, giving students time to gradually explore their own local area, share their discoveries and learn about the landscape where their pen pals live. As with the first edition, the project will conclude with a shared creative project, bringing together the places, stories and experiences discovered along the way. 

Could your class be part of the next adventure?

Are you a Cycle 3 teacher looking for a different way to bring the landscape into your classroom? Registration for the 2026–2027 school year is now open, offering an opportunity for your students to explore the places around them, ask questions about the landscape and share their discoveries with another class. 

‘Géoparcs en toutes lettres’ brings learning beyond the classroom, using the landscape as a starting point for curiosity, creativity and connection. It gives students the chance to discover more about where they live while building a relationship with children in another Geopark and seeing their own surroundings through fresh eyes. 

If you would like your class to take part, contact Martin Verhoeven, Education Officer and Cross-Channel Geopark Transmanche Project Manager, to find out more about the project, selection criteria and the support available. 

Email: mverhoeven@parc-opale.fr | Tel: +33 3 21 87 90 84 / +33 6 75 85 83 92